Why Hope Matters for Business

Thoughts on the Arab world’s first mission to Mars

Author: Alain Bejjani — CEO, Majid Al Futtaim — Holding

Tomorrow, weather permitting, the UAE’s first mission to Mars will rocket into space from Japan. If all goes well, the Hope orbiter probe will spend the next seven to nine months traveling more than 50 million kilometers to reach Mars’ orbit, and then spend the next two years observing the planet’s atmosphere.

I have never been a space buff. I am following the progress of Hope closely, however, as I believe there is much we in the MENA business community can learn from it.

First, the UAE’s mission to Mars reminds us that when we live from our dreams and not our fears, we have already succeeded.

The possibility of failure for any Mars mission is high. Only four nations have succeeded thus far and half of all attempts have failed at launch, orbit or landing phases.

But, as Hope project director Omran Sharaf has said, “This is a research and development mission and, yes, failure is an option. However, failure to progress as a nation is not an option… What matters the most here is the capacity and the capability that the UAE gained out of this mission, and the knowledge it brought into the country.”

If we applied this way of thinking and this definition of success to our companies and our industries, the transformation would reverberate across generations and geographies. Let me say that again: Failure to progress is not an option; what matters most is capacity and capability gained.

For every business, there will be multiple reasons not to try something new and radical. But there is at least one ironclad reason to — and it is in the name of the mission. Those who do not hope will never achieve. Uncertainty, risk, and fear of failure are no match for boldness, preparation, and commitment.

Second, the Hope mission is defined by collaboration, cooperation and consideration.

The UAE took pains to discover how their desire to reach Mars could add value to the international body of knowledge about the planet; it also collaborated with the best in the business, from the United States to Japan, and with universities, corporations and individuals to find common ground, mutual benefit and realise its ambitions.

Whether we are conglomerates, SMEs or individual businessmen and women, we each have something of value to add to our sector, community, nation and region. Let’s look beyond what’s it in for me and do more to consider what’s in it for us; let’s move past our egos and self-defined boundaries for our mutual benefit and advance.

This is how we, like the UAE, will advance — by working together.

Third, the Hope mission is a reminder that worthwhile journeys are long and filled with both unexpected joys and setbacks.

Lasting change takes time and occurs incrementally. The Hope probe has moved from ideation to launch in six years; still ahead of other, similar missions that take at least 10 years to get to this stage.

The learnings from Hope will fit into the mosaic that may one day make it possible to put people on Mars. We follow a similar strategy at Majid Al Futtaim, investing in and realising future-minded initiatives to spur ourselves ever forward.

We believe that our investment in instore hydroponic microgreen farms will pave the way for tomorrow’s hydroponic fruit-and-vegetable farms, for example. We recently pioneered carbon-neutral drive-in cinemas, an initiative that brought us irreplaceable learnings in sustainability. Many of the retail advances we made in the last few months — including transforming our digital platforms to better serve our partners, customers and staff safely and securely — are here to stay.

These are just some of the big and small steps we have taken towards the future, with the goal of serving our customers and communities better.

Even though we cannot see the whole picture of what lies ahead, we must deliver in the ways we can and continue moving ahead and do our best to prepare for a better future. That is what the UAE is doing with Hope, and that is the challenge for all of us who consider ourselves leaders in the MENA region.

Finally, the UAE’s mission proves that a single light can dispel much darkness.

The Hope expedition has and will continue to fire the imaginations of the young, the young at heart and the not so young across the MENA region because this has been declared an endeavour from and for the entire Arab world. Before it has even launched, the Hope mission has engendered pride, raised spirits and fueled aspirations across diverse demographics.

Optimism, like change, is contagious. The 150 Emirati scientists, engineers and researchers involved in the Hope mission will drive an exponentially larger cadre of scientists, engineers and researchers, many of whom will take on and eventually solve challenges like water and food security, clean energy and more.

I appreciate the words of Nidhal Guessoum, an Algerian astrophysicist at the American University of Sharjah: “There is going to be good science (from the Hope mission), but the objective is not really the science. The objective is to catalyse this generation… The officials of the UAE have stressed this is an Arab mission, not just an Emirati mission or a Gulf mission. This is for the Arabs, and the Arab world, to bring it into the space age.”

In a time of uncertainty and a region often scarred by upheaval, the UAE’s Mars mission is more than a beacon to all who dream of a better future. It is a trumpet call to pursue ideas, innovation and dreams, and an open door to show that it is both possible and worthwhile to achieve them.

Because of Hope, we will have children and adults across the region who dream big dreams.

I think UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said it best when he first announced the Hope mission to Mars in 2015. He mentioned three messages behind the mission: “The first message is for the world: that Arab civilisation once played a great role in contributing to human knowledge, and will play that role again; the second message is to our Arab brethren: that nothing is impossible, and that we can compete with the greatest of nations in the race for knowledge and the third message is for those who strive to reach the highest of peaks: set no limits to your ambitions, and you can reach even to space”.

I wish everyone involved with the Hope probe and the UAE every success, and extend my congratulations and thanks for raising our dreams and hopes higher than ever before.

Watch the launch live on the following link: https://www.emiratesmarsmission.ae/live/